Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, there are still misconceptions about evolution. People who have taken in popular science myths often assume that biologists claim they do not believe in evolution.
This rich website - companion to the PBS series - provides teachers with materials which support evolution education and help avoid the kinds of misinformation that can hinder it. It's organized in a "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject matter to teach effectively. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject, and some scientists even use a definition that confuses it. This is especially true when discussing the meaning of the words themselves.
It is therefore crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and helpful manner. The site is a companion to the show which first aired in 2001, but it is also an independent resource. The material is presented in a way which aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms such as common ancestor, gradual process and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature and significance of evolution with other scientific concepts. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been researched and confirmed. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been created by creationists.
You can also access a glossary which includes terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency for heritable traits to become better suitable to a particular setting. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable traits are more likely than those with less-adapted traits to survive and reproduce.
Common ancestor: The latest common ancestor of two or more distinct species. By analyzing the DNA from these species, it is possible to identify the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that contains information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences, which are strung into long chains known as chromosomes. Mutations are the source of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which the evolutionary changes of one species are influenced evolutionary changes in the other. Examples of coevolution include the interaction between predator and prey, or the parasite and the host.
에볼루션게이밍 (groups of individuals that are able to interbreed) develop through a series of natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. The changes can be caused by a variety of causes, including natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of gene pools. The development of a new species can take thousands of years, and the process can be slowed down or accelerated by environmental conditions such as climate change or competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site follows the emergence of various species of plants and animals and focuses on major changes in each group's past. It also explores human evolution as a subject of particular importance to students.
When Darwin wrote the Origin in 1859, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. The famous skullcap, with the associated bones, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now known as an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, just a year before the first edition of the Origin was published, it's highly unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.
While the site is focused on biology, it also includes a good deal of information about geology as well as paleontology. The most impressive features of the Web site are a series of timelines that illustrate how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time and a map of the geographical distribution of some fossil groups listed on the site.
The site is a companion to a PBS television series, but it can also be used as an educational resource by teachers and students. The site is well-organized and provides clear links to the introduction material of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's support) and the more specialized features of the museum's website. These hyperlinks help users move from the enthralling cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. There are also links to John Endler's experiments with guppies that illustrate the importance ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has led to a wide variety of animals, plants, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geological context and has a number of advantages over modern observational and experimental methods in its exploration of evolutionary processes. In addition to examining processes and events that occur regularly or over a lengthy period of time, paleobiology can be used to examine the relative abundance of different species of organisms and their distribution in space over the course of geological time.
The website is divided into several routes that can be taken to learn about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the nature and evidence of evolution. The path also explores the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the evolution theory's history.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that are suited to a variety of educational levels and teaching styles. In addition to general textual content, the site also has a wide range of multimedia and interactive content including videos, animations and virtual labs. The content is organized in a nested, bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation within the vast web site.
For example the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of the relationships between corals and their interactions with other organisms. It then zooms in on a single clam that can communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in water conditions that take place at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages, provides an excellent introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes a discussion on the role of natural selectivity and the concept phylogenetics analysis, an important tool to understand evolutionary changes.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that is found throughout all branches of biology. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across the life science disciplines.
One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of a Web site that offers both depth and breadth in its educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also features a "bread crumb structure" that assists students in moving away from the cartoon style that is used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements of this vast website that are closely connected to the fields of research science. An animation that introduces the concept of genetics links to a page highlighting John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.
Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this web website, which includes an extensive multimedia library of items connected to evolution. The content is organized into the form of curriculum-based pathways that are in line with the learning objectives set out in biology standards. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for use in the classroom, and can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.
Evolutionary biology remains a field of study that poses many important questions, including the causes of evolution and the speed at which it happens. This is especially true for human evolution, where it has been difficult to reconcile the notion that the innate physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes, and the religious beliefs that claim that humans are unique in the universe and has a special place in creation. It is soul.
Additionally, there are a number of ways that evolution can occur and natural selection is the most widely accepted theory. However scientists also study different kinds of evolution like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.
Although many scientific fields of study have a conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, the concept of evolution biology has been the subject of intense controversy and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolution, but others haven't.